For Immediate Release
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
News Release
Global Organization of
Parliamentarians
Against Corruption
Global Secretariat:
904 - 255 Albert St
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6A9
Canada
Tel: +1.613.366-3164 x 304
Fax: +1.613.421-7061
[email protected]
Website:
www.gopacnetwork.org
Twitter:
@GOPAC_Eng
Pacific MPs Need to Champion Anti-Corruption
in Sustainable Development Goals
Nukuʻalofa, Tonga – Parliamentarians should ensure that when their national governments
and parliaments adopt priority national Sustainable Development Goals and targets after the
UN General Assembly in September, that Goal 16 is included along with its anti-corruption
relevant targets, GOPAC Oceania Chair John Hyde told a workshop for Tongan
parliamentarians today.
Tonga is one of the five remaining Pacific nations yet to sign onto the UN Convention Against
Corruption (UNCAC), and GOPAC along with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the UN Pacific
Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) Project are working with Tonga’s parliamentarians in a
two-day workshop on UNCAC and parliamentary oversight.
“The Myworld survey with 7.4m responses found that ‘an honest and responsive government’
is among the top four priorities of ordinary people, and GOPAC believes that parliamentarians
have a key role in ensuring governments are transparent and accountable,” said Mr Hyde at the
workshop in the Kingdom of Tonga capital Nukuʻalofa.
Mr Hyde praised the commitment of Australian Government funding through the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC)
Project, a four- year USD$4.3m project in 15 Pacific nations, including Tonga.
Facebook:
fb.com/gopacnetwork
GOPAC is a worldwide
alliance of parliamentarians
working together to combat
corruption, strengthen good
government, and uphold the
rule of law.
“It’s great to see the UNDP and the UNODC joining together to administer DFAT’s anticorruption fund – their work has already helped GOPAC engage many Pacific MPs and
parliaments into forming new national chapters,” said Mr Hyde.
GOPAC Cook Islands Chair Hon Nandi Glassie, who is also participating in the workshop said
MPs in the Pacific want to enhance anti-corruption policies, laws and institutions.
“MPs understand that corruption robs our people of clean water and affordable health
programmes—corruption keeps developing nations in poverty,” said Hon Glassie. “We want to
build up the capacity of our MPs in best-practice anti-corruption so we can advocate
throughout all our isolated and diverse island communities.”
GOPAC is a worldwide alliance of parliamentarians working together to combat corruption,
strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law. Based in Ottawa, Canada, GOPAC
has 51 national chapters on 5 continents. GOPAC supports its members’ efforts through
original research, global anti-corruption capacity building, and international peer support. Visit
GOPAC on the web at gopacnetwork.org, on Twitter at twitter.com/GOPAC_Eng, and on
Facebook at facebook.com/gopacnetwork.
Contact:
Ann Marie Paquet
Director of Communications, GOPAC Global Secretariat
+1.613.366-3164 x 304, [email protected]